How to Build a Road Trip Playlist

Creating Road Trip Playlists

Road trip season is just around the corner, and with good road trips come good road trip playlists! But let’s get real, not all playlists are created equal, and if you’ve ever been on the listening end of a poorly constructed playlist on a long road trip, you know the consequences can be miserable. So how do you make sure your playlist will keep you and your car guests happy, dancing, singing along, and most importantly – keep the driver awake at the wheel? Here are a few of our keys to creating the perfect playlist for even your longest road trip.

Variety

It’s the spice of life, right? You never want too much of the same thing on your road trip playlists. Shake it up with different genres, or different artists within the same genre and pick from a wide range of song types to keep things interesting, your ears happy, and the whole car pleased with the ambiance you’re creating. Also worth considering is the makeup of who will be accompanying you on the road trip. Taking into account your guests’ musical preferences can help add more variety to the list and ensure that everyone gets to hear at least one of their favorite tunes while you’re on the road.

Solid Jams

Isn’t half the fun of curating the perfect playlist getting to rock out? Solid jams are the ones that everyone knows all the words to. You know, like…Bon Jovi’s “Wanted Dead or Alive,” for example, or Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin’.” These are also known as the classics and are an absolute staple to a long road trip playlist. Sometimes there’s just nothing better than throwing it back and rocking out when you’re driving on a seemingly endless highway (may we also suggest AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” if you’re having to drive through Nebraska….) and are miles and miles away from the nearest rest stop.

High Energy

This goes back to our whole “no falling asleep at the wheel” rule, but keeping the energy up in your playlist keeps the energy up on the road. And when the Red Bull wears off and your eyes start to feel a little heavy, a perfectly timed high-energy anthem can bring you right back to the land of the living – and the stoked – to be headed wherever you’re headed.

Occasional Chill-Out

We know, we know, Barney Stinson says a good mix should be all rise, but we subscribe to the more common belief that a truly exceptional mix should rise and fall. After all, if you’re listening to a lot of music that lies within the same tempo range, there’s a chance your ears – and thus your brain – could tire of it eventually, leading to more fatigue, which is the exact opposite of the point. Throwing in some chill-out tracks help keep your playlist balanced and give your ears time to chill, chat, or just enjoy the dulcet tones of your favorite singer-songwriters without being overwhelmed by jams and high-energy hits.

Stay in Your Vocal Range

What is the point of a road trip playlist if you can’t belt. it. out?! There isn’t really one, we would argue, as half the sheer joy of a road trip is, indeed, scream-singing your favorite songs at the top of your lungs. It helps, in order to truly maximize that “I sound better in the car” paradox that exists in the car and the shower, to have a bulk of the songs on your playlist be within your vocal range. Now, we’re not saying you can’t push your limits – after all, having a variety of musical keys helps keep the flow of the playlist interesting and unique, but if you’re anything like us and love to pretend you’re getting that golden ticket on American Idol in your car, you’re gonna want some tunes you can feel totally comfortable singing your heart out to.

The bottom line with road trip playlists is this: keep it fun, keep it interesting, and keep it exciting. Test your musical boundaries and throw some new bands or genres on there to expand your horizons, but stick to what you know you love for the bulk of it. And most of all – jam out and drive on!